Sony Professional has announced the European launch of two new video security cameras to continue broadening the company’s extensive HD portfolio. The SNC-DH180 and SNC-DH240 will be on show for the first time in Europe at IFSEC 2010, following the initial unveiling at ISC West in March, and will complete Sony’s HD range.

Market demand for HD products is growing but until now there has not been the breadth of products to provide the means or motivation to move from analogue to IP. Market research suggests that in 2010, 35% of security cameras sold will be IP and together, IP and analogue equipment will take 50% of the market share in 2012. To meet these demands, Sony is enhancing its video surveillance line up by offering a wider range of HD products from the high to the low end of the market.

The new security cameras are focused on image quality coupled with the powerful video analytics of Sony’s Advanced Distributed Enhanced Processing Architecture (DEPA). The SNC-DH180 vandal-resistant camera, boasts a built-in infrared (IR) illuminator to deliver excellent images even in absolute darkness. The wide dual-stream network camera supports H.264, MPEG-4 and JPEG compression formats and is specially designed for surveillance applications with its rugged features and image-enhancement technology. The SNC-DH240, with easy focus function and zoom, is equipped with various image enhancers including View-DR and XDNR (excellent dynamic noise reduction) for clear images without motion blur under low illumination.

Simon Nash, Senior European Marketing Manager, Video Security for Sony Professional commented, “HD remains a key focus for Sony and IFSEC 2010 will demonstrate Sony’s understanding of the security market in a period of change from analogue to IP and the various issues the industry now faces. HD has the potential to transform the security industry but to date this capability has not been fully tapped. With the launch of these new HD cameras, we are now able to offer customers a complete HD security solution, from the initial image capture to playback, regardless of the recording scenario. When combined with our HD compatible recorders and HD display units, we have a unique advantage over our competitors who still only offer a limited range of HD technology.”